Respiratory therapists switching to RN

It seems like a lot of people who post here go from an RT career to an RN career. Can anyone explain their reasons why they chose to do this?

I have a BA in English lit. I was going to apply for an accelerated BSN program, but the schooling was just too expensive, competitive, and intensive for me. After looking into it, the field of respiratory care really piqued my interest. I was just accepted into a very competitive community college RT program in Massachusetts.

I realize it will also be stressful, but the affordable cost and the field itself really swayed me.

But now I'm worried that RTs eventually get bored? tired? frustrated? with their jobs and go back to school to be an RN anyway. I don't want to wind up spending more money on yet another undergrad degree down the road. Anyone have any thoughts on the subject?
That's what my CNA instructor did. She said that there wasn't really much for her to do with RT. There wasn't a great need for them in our area and she was limited to clinical RT, and this was 15 years ago. As soon as she graduated from her RT program and worked during the summer and during her last year of RT school at the hospital, she worked around nurses and saw that she liked their job better and returned to school for nursing that next fall. She already had the prerequisites since she had just graduated as a RT. She said that with nursing, she could be more flexible as to what she could do and the job/advancement opportunities were better for her. She been an RN since.

Well I can’t speak from personal experience but there is a RT in my ADN nursing program and she told me she choose to change because she was burned out. She said there is only a few of them in a very large hospital and they pulled around and worked to death. Also once I met a RT who worked at a local hospital and I told her one of my friends was going to school for RT and she said "tell him DONT DO IT"! When I asked her why she basically told me the same thing they are over worked and their scope of practice is the same thing over, and over and over! I hope that helps a little. My friend who is in a bachelor program for RT seems to love it. Although if you think nursing is what you want to do long term than why waste your time, energy and money on a program you are sure about sticking with? I am in RN school and it is the best thing I have ever done! Good luck to you![/B]

I have known a few that have gone this route, and of the ones I know, it's about the $$$. RTs and RNs have some job overlap so the learning curve isn't that steep, and at least in this part of the country, RNs make more cash (not a huge amount more, but enough to be significant.) The ones I know got tired of making less money for what they perceived to be a similar job.

I couldn't be a RT. The suctioning.....blech. Sputum is my weakness. It makes me gag.I do, however, work with a RT who has been an RT for over 20 years and loves it. Whether or not you get bored is something that you'll have to deal with personally. Some will get bored with it, and others will love it.On a side note, I do work with a PA who used to be a RT. Have you looked into that? Much better pay, more autonomy, and prescriptive authority. You will spend more time in school though.

Quote from FribbletI couldn't be a RT. The suctioning.....blech. Sputum is my weakness. It makes me gag.I do, however, work with a RT who has been an RT for over 20 years and loves it. Whether or not you get bored is something that you'll have to deal with personally. Some will get bored with it, and others will love it.On a side note, I do work with a PA who used to be a RT. Have you looked into that? Much better pay, more autonomy, and prescriptive authority. You will spend more time in school though.

Hey, you've got to do what's right for you.Good luck!

I actually used to work with an RT that had previously worked as an RN. I often think if I had to do over, if not for the slightly less money factor, I'd have gone the RT route instead. Sure, more patients, but everything that's not a breathing treatment you can say is the nurse's job. Come to think of it, that might be worth the drop in pay. ....Off to see how long RT school would be....

Quote from woohI actually used to work with an RT that had previously worked as an RN. I often think if I had to do over, if not for the slightly less money factor, I'd have gone the RT route instead. Sure, more patients, but everything that's not a breathing treatment you can say is the nurse's job. Come to think of it, that might be worth the drop in pay. ....Off to see how long RT school wouCld be....

Quote from alissadancerIt seems like a lot of people who post here go from an RT career to an RN career. Can anyone explain their reasons why they chose to do this? I have a BA in English lit. I was going to apply for an accelerated BSN program, but the schooling was just too expensive, competitive, and intensive for me. After looking into it, the field of respiratory care really piqued my interest. I was just accepted into a very competitive community college RT program in Massachusetts. I realize it will also be stressful, but the affordable cost and the field itself really swayed me.But now I'm worried that RTs eventually get bored? tired? frustrated? with their jobs and go back to school to be an RN anyway. I don't want to wind up spending more money on yet another undergrad degree down the road. Anyone have any thoughts on the subject?

I've known a handful of RT's that went to RN. I've only ever met one RN that went to RT. I think that says something. It's not just pay, it's the huge variety of settings in which an RN can practice.